They hated to be separated at all. That’s my one consolation about their death, tragic as it was. They died together. They would have suffered great...y if they were parted for even a day, even an hour. I’m glad of that much at least,” Cassie thought aloud as she held hands with an equally shaken Hector.“Irony, that their mausoleum was barely finished when they perished. Almost as if our parents had a premonition of the future. And this monstrosity was perfect for them, too. Modeled after the Taj. Chairs were drawn up to coaster-like tables set up for those who needed a respite from dancing. He was forced to shift his position slightly to keep from being blinded by a blue spotlight aimed at the dancers on this side of the room. Blinking to clear his vision, he scanned the men sitting in scattered, chatting clumps. Stephan was about to move on when a burly fellow shifted forward in his seat, apparently needing to stress some point or other to his companions and he spotted a man at a table. Now we knew what the Rabbits were good for.The next thing we needed to do was to try out a stick grenade on a Rhinoceros or a King Kong. In the meantime, we stayed alert for whatever might show up.We were in the midst of our first cigarette break when we saw a Rug Monster that seemed to be headed in our direction. It might or might not actually be stalking us, but I saw no need to take a chance. Charley tossed a stick grenade onto this one just as he had done with the fragmentation grenade. ..”She trailed off. Her mother had been happy, yes, but ... surely that wasn’t enough to bring to Niles. He was a busy man - far too busy to worry about trifling matters like Brandi’s mother smiling.The previous day, she’d been so sure it was something Niles would want to hear about, but now ... self-doubt flooded her mind, and she wanted to smack herself for being so stupid.Oh no, Brandi thought to herself. He’s staring at me.Her mind raced - an effort, through the fog - and she remembered.